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Eternal vs External - What's the difference?

eternal | external |

As adjectives the difference between eternal and external

is that eternal is lasting forever; unending while external is outside of something; on the exterior.

eternal

English

Alternative forms

* (chiefly archaic) * (obsolete) * eternall (obsolete)

Adjective

(-)
  • Lasting forever; unending.
  • * John Locke
  • to know whether there were any real being, whose duration has been eternal
  • * Dryden
  • Fires eternal in thy temple shine.
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2012 , date=May 27 , author=Nathan Rabin , title=TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992) , work=The Onion AV Club citation , page= , passage=In a bid to understand the eternal mystery that is woman, Bart goes to the least qualified possible source for advice and counsel: his father, who remarkably seems to have made it to his mid-30s without quite figuring out much of anything. }}
  • (philosophy) existing outside time; as opposed to sempiternal, existing within time but everlastingly
  • (dated) Exceedingly great or bad; used as an intensifier.
  • some eternal villain

    Synonyms

    * permanent, sempiternal, endless, everlasting * (existing outside time) timeless, atemporal

    Antonyms

    * ephemeral * sempiternal

    Derived terms

    * eternal life * eternal recurrence * eternal return * eternal triangle * hope springs eternal

    external

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Outside of something; on the exterior.
  • This building has some external pipework.
  • * Milton
  • Of all external things, / She [Fancy] forms imaginations, aery shapes.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Her virtues graced with external gifts.
  • Not intrinsic nor essential; accidental; accompanying; superficial.
  • * Trench
  • The external circumstances are greatly different.
  • Foreign; relating to or connected with foreign nations.
  • external''' trade or commerce; the '''external relations of a state or kingdom
  • (anatomy) Away from the mesial plane of the body; lateral.
  • Antonyms

    * internal